Today was the national finals of the “STREAM Challenge 2021,” a competition that uses Pepper to solve social issues with the goal of creating a society where humans and robots coexist. With the comedy duo Kamaitachi serving as MCs, I served as a commentator.

The Grand Prize went to Takeo City Tachibana Elementary School for “Operation Trash Pickup with Pepper.” The project involved developing a version of Pepper designed to motivate all students to enjoy picking up trash on school grounds.Through creative approaches such as organizing competitions by grade level and visualizing the school-wide progress, 88% of students reportedly said it was “fun,” and 78% said they “would like to do it again.” Social issues aren’t solved by someone else—conscious action by each individual is crucial—but encouraging people to change their behavior is no easy task.The framework established for this project could likely be applied to initiatives beyond “picking up trash.” “If the entire school works together, it becomes a powerful force”—that’s exactly right! Tachibana Elementary School’s initiative, which successfully brought this vision to life, aligns perfectly with the spirit of the STREAM Contest and was, in my opinion, truly deserving of the Grand Prize.

The first Excellence Award went to “Pepper: Solving Food Problems.” This project uses a micro:bit installed in a cultivation device to monitor the growth of lettuce and utilizes the collected data to improve future cultivation methods.It aims to reduce the burden on people and enable cultivation in settings not typically used for food production, such as schools and hospitals. This initiative comes from Kakegawa City Kita Junior High School. When it comes to digital transformation (DX) in agriculture—and indeed, DX in various other fields in the future—I think we can safely leave it all to them. The presentation video is entertaining and outstanding—it’s definitely worth a watch!

The second Excellence Award went to the challenge from Fujieda Municipal Takasu Elementary School, titled “Let’s Follow Traffic Rules Correctly and Prevent Tragic Accidents!”The idea was born after the students learned that Shizuoka Prefecture has the highest number of traffic accidents in the country, and as they entered the upper grades and were entrusted with leading their school commute groups, they spent their days worrying about the safety of younger students on their way to and from school. Specifically, they utilized data from a map of hazardous spots along school routes provided by Fujieda City to create a program that allows users to identify dangerous areas on those routes.However, rather than simply using the data as-is, they made a point of visiting the sites in person to take photos and create content based on actual conditions. They also conducted field tests with the cooperation of local residents, demonstrating the program’s effectiveness. Elementary school students using data to solve community problems—it’s truly impressive.

The Special Awards went to three projects: “Teach Me About Politics and Social Issues! Mr. Pepper!”—designed to increase high school students’ interest in politics; a Pepper project dedicated to raising awareness to eliminate fraud; and a Pepper project aimed at alleviating the loneliness of elderly people living alone and providing them with support.I was impressed by their approach of taking issues—which are by no means familiar to elementary, middle, and high school students—and treating them as personal concerns, analyzing them, and proposing concrete solutions.

The Junior High School Challenge Award went to the “Let’s Revitalize Our Community” team from Fujieda Municipal Hanashi Junior High School for their initiative to revitalize the community by creating a promotional program for the local shopping district. They reportedly conducted interviews with local residents, gathered data, and developed no fewer than 86 programs.The students’ outreach efforts generated a greater response than expected, and they now plan to install low-cost, compact versions of the Pepper robot in local stores. They not only make use of existing tools but also propose ways to improve them. I expect that it is from such approaches that projects capable of overturning conventional wisdom will emerge.

The Elementary School Student Challenge Award goes to “We’ll Protect the Children’s Smiles! Pepper Solves Challenges in Childcare Settings.”Elementary school students have stepped up to help childcare settings, which are facing increased burdens due to the pandemic. While fully understanding the current situation of childcare workers, they are creating content that benefits children from a unique perspective—one that comes from being slightly older siblings. An initiative by children, for children. How wonderful.

What was striking was that, with the exception of the Grand Prize winner, nearly every team expressed feelings of “disappointment.”Each team received a video of feedback from experts, including suggestions for improvement, and every team took those comments to heart, expressing their determination to win the Grand Prize next time. That drive to improve is the very fuel for growth.

Thank you for another wonderful time this year that let us feel hopeful about the future!

*Click here to watch the video!